1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of wheeled luggage, and more particularly to a novel form of luggage which incorporates wheels and handle means so that the luggage can accommodate a stack of other pieces of luggage and may be pulled along on four wheels or pulled in a slanted position on two wheels.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the conventional practice to employ a single piece of luggage which has wheels carried on one edge so that the luggage may be pulled along by a handle in a canted or slanted position. In other forms, the piece of luggage may include four wheels similar to a wheeled dolly wherein a pulling handle is provided for pulling the four-wheeled luggage from one place to another. While in this position, additional pieces of luggage may be placed on top of the wheeled luggage so that the additional luggage may be rollably transported as a unit with the wheeled luggage. Such an example of wheeled stackable luggage is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,792.
Although the prior attempts have been successful in stacking luggage on a wheeled arrangement, difficulties and problems have been encountered which stem largely from the fact that the four-wheeled luggage cannot be pulled along in a tilted or canted position since the wheels are mounted within the peripheral confines of the luggage itself. In other words, no wheels extend beyond the perimeter of the luggage so that the luggage can be canted or tilted during a pulling procedure. Furthermore, access to such conventional luggage is by means of a flap constituting a part of one side of the luggage so that when additional luggage is carried on top of that side, access is prevented to the interior of the bottommost luggage. Furthermore, such conventional luggage does not provide for a leash-type of pulling strap as well as a rigid telescoping handle so that convenience to the user is adversely affected.
Still a further disadvantage of conventional luggage of the four-wheeled form resides in the fact that rigid members, such as bumpers or corner guards, are required and are integrally formed with the soft material of the luggage, a labor intensive manufacturing procedure as well as removing many advantages attendant to the use of soft luggage. By providing end or corner pieces, the luggage no longer becomes as flexible and therefore greatly reduces the advantageous nature of flexible luggage.
Therefore, a long-standing need has existed to provide a novel form of wheeled stackable luggage which maintains the characteristics of flexible luggage and at the same time, provides for rigid platform or frame which is wheeled and may be readily assembled to soft luggage. Convenient access to the interior of the luggage while in a stackable condition is greatly advantageous and should be incorporated into a wheeled stackable luggage arrangement.